So as ex #2's hotel business (The Country Resort in previous construction threads), heads towards an early demise, solely due to her and family's incompetence and laziness, - I find that my own little B&B (The Thai Style Resort in the construction threads), is doing very well, even though it only opened last November.
Here is a quick comparison of income for the 2 businesses from Nov 2014 - May 2015:
Ex #2 (8 guest rooms) ==> 0.91 million baht
My place (4 guest rooms) ==> 1.2 million baht
My outgoings are lower as well (just 1.5 staff).
I need to build more guest rooms!
I am allowed by my building permit to build 3 more guest rooms, but I intend to build 2 more 'rooms' before the next high season.
So what should I build???
Here is a photo of the area of the garden where I propose to build:
The area is between the gazebo and the wall.
Now I could build similar rooms as I built last year ==> wooden doors, louvre shutters, wide terrace (see the photos in the construction thread).
But I want to provide guest accommodation that is highly original and in demand because of the 'novelty' factor.
I am also not keen to build in similar style as before, because this means that I have to use ex #2's brother as the builder. (I could refuse to use him, but that would create some family headaches).
This guy can build basic structures. He is cheap because he is a dickhead, and I have to watch him like a hawk. He steals my tools given the chance (I am on my 6th power drill over the past few years...)
He is also trying to offer one of his distant daughters to me as a gik, (she is 18+, see some other thread about this), and this sounds like a whole lot of hassle
So what do I build?
Right folks, call me Mr Mad-As-A-Bat Simon, but this is my idea:
which is the interior of one of these:
I'm going to build Red Indian style
It's a Sioux-style teepee (or tipi or wigwam) that is made by a company in the USA.
Nomadics Tipi Makers
This is no childrens' play-tent. Note the size of the boy in that photo and then check out the furnishings/layout in the first photo. For single-night accommodation for 2 adults, this is a very reasonable size.
Advice - you should visit that website and read the detail before dismissing my idea as crazy
My plan is to buy two of these tipis, complete with custom silhouette paintwork on the tent material (characters from the Ramakien),and install them in my garden.
I checked out some of the links from that website for resorts which already use their teepees. 2 things interested me:
- There were no resorts listed in Thailand
- The 'room' rate for staying in a teepee was not for Cheap-Charlies. This was a novelty but luxury accommodation.
The teepee material is extra strong cotton, treated against mildew etc, with a lifetime of perhaps 10 years. This is fine by me because the purchase price of each teepee is about $2,500 (including a friggin 30% tax to import them into Thailand).
A few advantages to using teepees:
- I only have to construct the base platform on which to secure the teepee. So this will totally minimise any construction work that the BIL has to do.
- Small amount of construction = low cost and quick to complete
- Novelty factor. I think my Chinese/Japanese guests will love them
- Mobility. If the ex and family gang up on me to 'steal' my resort, I'll take me and my 2 wigwams somewhere else!
One important point concerns the bathroom facilities. Because the teepee is quite large, it is actually possible to construct a bathroom area within it, separated from the sleeping area by a wall that rises up to touch the slope of the teepee cover.
The teepee material will move slightly in the breeze, so I cannot seal the joint between that wall and the teepee material. However, the sound of ablutions will be masked by the constant noise from the fountains, frogs and crickets in my garden.
This teepee will have air-con, mounted on the partition wall.
I will have to make a few mods to the teepee, to ensure that mozzies cannot enter. So I will add a mozzie net material around the base of the teepee, and the same at the smoke vent.
I have already measured out the area and am all ready to start work.
I could describe more in this first post, but I'll do that in the follow-up posts after forum members have recovered from incredulous laughter at my insanity